The Forgotten Realm
by Orosko
Summary: A new group of digidestined, a new enemy, and a whole new adventure. Not long ago, the Earth was torn apart by a deadly virus. Years later, when strange creatures begin finding their way into our world, our fate is entrusted to two very unsuspecting individuals.
1. Chapter 1: A Reunion?

**A/N: **This is a story I've had in my brain for years. I've tweaked it and perfected it as time went on, but I never really had any intentions to make it anything more than a story I sometimes thought about, because fanfiction was never really my forte. I decided to finally write it out and share it after much thought, because I've had severe writer's block about anything but this particular story. I really hope you all enjoy it, I have pretty much the whole story structure planned out from beginning to end, and it's going to end up being around 75 chapters I think. Quite long I know. I might split it up into different stories, but for now please enjoy Volume 1!

* * *

**Volume 1: Earth**

**Chapter 1: A... reunion?**

Night had descended upon the city; dark shadows cast by the moonlight suffocated the alleyways and outskirt homes in a perpetual black. But tall skyscrapers, small erect buildings, street lamps, neon signs, the blinking of hundreds of car headlights, and much more illuminated the city, providing a false daytime light, allowing its citizens to carry on long past the setting sun. A large blinking sign exclaimed, _'RENEWED OSAKA I.D. PASS, get yours now!'_. It was raised high above spiraling highways, it's light penetrating the darkness, the glow reaching out to reveal a lone figure perched atop a roof, crouched, hidden from passerby's. Continuing to hunch down out of sight, the figure turned its brown eyes to the cityscape, searching with a hunger, a need. The trail was stale, and a warm aroma rose from the bakery below, filling the figure with another type of hunger. She stood up, and loosely curled red hair cascaded over her shoulder to hang limply in the dead air. A second figure materialized behind the first, as if it was born from the shadow surrounding it.

"It's getting late." Said the second figure.

The girl ignored her companion and strode away in the opposite direction. She reached for the red device at her side, a blinking white light told her it was near, but she could not see anything. _It must be a small one, _she thought to herself. She stepped on to the landing and teetered on the balls of her feet, turning her head back to look into the misty blue eyes that belonged to her large, fox-like partner. Without her saying a word, the other knew exactly what was to come next. Words were no longer necessary between them at this point. She pushed off, hard, and leapt into the night, the bright yellow fox following in her stead. The wind whipped past her, billowing around her dark red dress, sending her scarlet curls tumbling behind her. Down below cars and people passed by, nothing now but small points of light on a larger labyrinthine grid. That's all they ever were to her, small, and meaningless. Boots found concrete, and the girl landed gracefully atop another building, only long enough to run across and jump fearlessly to the next. She traveled this way for quite a while as the blinking white light became more and more prominent.

Suddenly she stopped atop an old private school, the fox landing quietly beside of her. Nestled down in an abandoned street, between two garbage cans, panting and scuffed, was her prey. Disappointment filled her entire being, not only was it small, it was weak and exhausted. It had been weeks since her last hunt, and something so unsatisfying as a half-beaten foe sparked a fierce anger within her. She lazily fell on to the pavement, not worried about bracing her fall, and grabbed the device at her side once more, watching with a half amused smile as it quickly transformed into a long, rose-colored whip. Even after all these years, the sight still filled her with awe.

"Do you want me to take care of it?" The fox asked.

"No Renamon, I've got this." She replied, stepping forward towards the red birdlike creature slumped against the dirt stone wall.

The creature took notice as she approached. Eyeing the weapon in the red head's right hand, panic took over the creature, and it attempted to rise and flee, only to collapsed mere feet from it's starting position. Weighed down by injury and limits of the body, it could do nothing but turn around and accept its inevitable fate. The girl swayed forward once more, lifting up her weapon hand, rearing back to strike, but was narrowly blocked by the appearance of a masked human, who slid in between the oncoming attack, and blocked the lash from her whip with a large, rectangular shield. Armored in bronze and dark blue, the new player was backed by a large, towering machine. Taking this cue of safety, the bird creature managed to lift itself up, and stagger down an alleyway, separating itself as far away from the battling two as it could.

"I know you." The girl smirked, "I thought you were just a story. Trying to play the hero?"

The armored man did not speak, but stood ever still, commanding a revered silence.

"Have it your way." She shrugged, stepping back and stancing herself to fight.

In seconds she was on her foe, whip cracking through the air, slicing and colliding sharply with the man's tough armor. She moved serenely through the air, as if gravity did not apply to her motions. The blunt force of her attacks whelped holes in the metal. The man dodged the next oncoming set of whips, turning sharply and jumping forward, busting his shield into her chest, knocking her back. Staggering, she reclaimed herself and leapt forward, wrapping her whip around his shield arm and drawing him towards herself. Their eyes met, brown eyes piercing blue, and before the gaze could last another second, he broke free of her binds and fell back.

"Gaurdromon, attack!" He finally shouted, commanding the metal beast behind him.

Gaurdromon sprung into action, barreling forward straight at the girl and her fox. The stone cracked beneath the weight of the giant machine, rippling outwards and creating tiny gray puzzle pieces out of the once strong slabs. Lifting his right arm, an angry faced bullet projectiled from the top of his forearm, swirling swiftly at the redheaded girl, tiny wisps of smoke lingering in the space behind. Renamon dashed sideways, grabbing the girl just in time as the bomb missed her by inches and collided with the brick school wall instead. Fire blazed instantly, stray bricks went flying in every directions, debris littering the pavement. The smoke finally cleared, and the once intact wall now contained a gaping hole the size of a semi-truck.

"This is what I was looking for!" The girl exclaimed gleefully, falling back and motioning Renamon forward.

The fox however was not amused, she turned her head away from the silent machine and motioned for the girl to follow her. Vivid anger spread across her face, but the red girl followed the fox's lead, jumping once more on to the rooftops, taking one last searing glance down at the man she could have defeated, the power she could have had.

"This one is not worth the fight, not yet." Renamon detested, "He is too strong to overtake."

She said nothing, but disagreed in silence, she knew her limitations, and knew that, if given the chance, she could have smite him down, taking what she would have won, and become that much stronger for it. But not without Renamon, and so she followed, setting once more out into the night, heading this time not towards prey, but to home.

* * *

She could almost see him, he was there up ahead talking with one of his friends. She wondered which class he was going to, she should have said something earlier, when they shared the same room, but her fear kept her back. Maybe she could _bump into him_ after class, start up a conversation. She wasn't really good at that kind of thing though, she never was.

"Addie! Hey, Addie!"

"Whaaa..?" Addie spun around, almost colliding with her pixie haired friend, "Oh sorry, Charlie, I didn't hear you."

Charlie fell into step with Addie, and the pair continued to walk down the crowded school hallway, " Didn't hear me? Pleeease, I called your name seven times, you were _obviously _distracted. I bet it was that boy again, you really should just ask him out you know."

"Jeez, Charlie, not everything in the world is about teenage hormones."

"It is with me. And if you're _not_ into him, why've you been so enamored lately. Seems like a waste of a perfectly good stalking to me." Charlie joked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Isn't your class in the other direction?" Addie asked, steering the subject somewhere else.

"Yeah, but I figured we could skive off last period and go hang out at the arcade. We could stop at the candy shop, my treat. Not like your dad would care anyways."

" That sounds really tempting, honestly, but I should really get to class, big test today you know." Addie looked away, guilt eating her insides. She didn't like lying to Charlie, but she had other pressing matters to attend to right now, something much more important than teenage hormones or skipping school. "Besides, I haven't renewed my I.D., they'd never let me downtown without it."

"Ugggh fine. No point in me leaving early to hang out by myself. I'll see you after school loser!" And with that Charlie skipped off, rushing back to class in hopes of not being late.

Addie pressed on, turning a corner and watched the boy go into classroom 4-A. She leaned against the cold drywall and waited for the period to begin. Her class wasn't too far away, but she couldn't chance missing him again, she had to do this today, had to get it over with. The school wasn't that bad of a place, she thought to herself, not with how the rest of the city was going. Identification for this, thumb print for that, limits on how much you can buy, where you can go, who you can see even, the world was in a state of distress, and she knew exactly why. The government had saved them from the virus, the thing that plagued their lives. No one had done anything about it though, no one stood up for their rights. Everyone was just glad to be safe again, and maybe with time the urge to be free would overcome the urge for safety, but now was not that time, not for Addie, or the world.

No, the school was a good place, the teachers knew about how things were before, and wanted to give the best options to their students. Addie felt like they could get away with a lot more here than anywhere else. Most schools would report you immediately if you skipped class, but here it only became an issue if it was a frequent offence. A line that Charlie had learned to teeter on quite dangerously. A report to authorities meant at least a slap on the wrist, with restrictions placed even more heavily on where you could go, all depending on the crime of course. Hard punishment could mean re-education, or even worse, elimination. Addie didn't want to think of it, not now, not while she was more or less safe. She let herself get lost in thought about other things, other days, and before she knew it the bells rang and last period was finally over. She readied herself, she was going to do it.

* * *

"I think she's still outside there man." Riley smacked Lalen on the back, "You must have done a number on her."

"What?" Lalen was snapped out of thought about his next art project, and brought back to reality by his large, muscled friend Riley, "What girl?"

"Just wait till the bell rings, you'll see what I mean. She followed us here from last period."

"Didn't you think it could be possible that she followed us because she is interested in you?" Lalen rolled his eyes in disinterest.

"Of course I have, just throwing you a bone man."

"Well don't."

"I know, I know, you have your eyes set on that bookstore girl."

Lalen had been friends with Riley since they were children, and while the two branched off towards very separate directions socially and interest wise as they grew up, they had managed to stay close best friends through it all. Riley had seen Lalen at his worst, helped him through times he'd rather not remember, and you just can't not be friends after something like that. Of course, that didn't stop Lalen from teasing every once in a while.

The bell rang, signaling that the school day was over. Students got up in unison, rhythmically placing objects back in their purses and bags, and shuffled towards the door. Riley was talking with another jock about something that happened last week in the locker-room quite loudly behind Lalen as they filed outside, and jabbed Lalen in the side with his elbow to get his attention, pointing towards a mostly empty corner of the hallway. Lalen spotted the mystery girl Riley had mentioned, standing awkwardly to the side, waiting for the classrooms to empty. Her eyes widened when they met Lalen's, and she bustled over, determination etched in her face. Lalen turned away from her, and almost jogged past the herd of students, making his way outside into fresh daylight, and breathed in the afternoon air. He didn't feel like dealing with whatever this was right now.

Regardless, she had caught up to him anyways, and Lalen was taken aback as a stranger's hand had grabbed his shoulder and wheeled him around, forcing him to look at the mystery girl head on. She was his age, with brown hair that fell to her neck, with a piece in the front longer than the rest, and deep green eyes. He couldn't muster any reason as to why she was confronting him.

"Uhm... I uhh" She trailed off.

"Do you do this to all the guys you like?" Lalen tried to break the awkwardness.

"It's not like that." The girl tried to assure him, "I've been trying to talk to you for a couple of weeks now, ever since I figured out who you were."

"And who am I exactly?" Lalen raised his eyebrow, intrigued.

"I'd rather not talk about that here. I've been trying to scrounge up the nerve to ask if you would come over to my place so I can talk to you about it."

"No offense, but this is really weird. You are a quasi-stranger, asking me to come over to your place, for reasons that you don't want to talk about in public?" Lalen turned to leave.

"My name is Addie, Addeline Flynn to be exact. I promise this isn't some weird... entrapment thing, I just want to have an honest talk with you for maybe... an hour. An hour of your time is all I ask."

"...I don't know," Lalen stalled, not sure what to say at first. "Could I bring someone, just so it's less... weird?"

"Sure! Bring whoever you like, and I'll invite my friend Charlie. That way it's not two quasi-strangers alone together. Is later this evening okay for you?"

"...Sure. I'll be over at seven, alright? But no funny business." Lalen left her standing, stunned and forming a smile.

_What just happened? _He asked himself. Who was this Addie girl? What did she want? He shook off the jeebies that were starting to set in, and rationalized it by telling himself that it was just an hour. Just an hour and she would have said her say and he could get down to the bottom of this... this... _weirdness_.

Lalen's first stop before leaving school was to find Riley and ask him to meet at the old drugstore at 6:45. Riley happily complied, and didn't ask to many questions as to what the hell was happening. Lalen always admired his loyalty, even in the face of absurd mystery girls. He then hopped on his bike, peddling with gusto as he headed towards his usual after school haunt,_ The Pageturner_, the local used bookstore. The entire ride there he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, shadows danced in the corner of his eyes, taunting him to look, break his concentration from steering. He ignored his instinct and finally made it to his destination. It was one of the last old-fashioned buildings left in New Osaka; wooden pagoda style rooftops, vibrant pink cherry blossoms nestled out front, and red banisters lining the steps and porch front of the entrance. It was a colorful splash of happy in the gray dreary landscape surrounding it. The door knob was old black iron, and Lalen twisted it with some force, hearing the familiar chiming of bells as he stepped inside. Books lined every wall, every corner, every nook and cranny. Some legal, some not, but somehow The Pageturner had managed to avoid problems with the authorities. The old structure smelled of wood and paper, a calm and relaxing scent to Lalen as he traveled inside, opening books and peaking at their contents. He had already looked at most of them, but he still liked coming by.

"You know, you really should buy something today." The dirty blonde clerk behind the counter mused, leaning forward and gripping the marble counter top, "Risa appreciates your company though, we all do."

"Quinn, back from vacation?" Lalen asked the glasses wearing book enthusiast.

"Yep! Feels good to be back in here to be honest. You looking for Fiona? She's in the back moving some stuff around right now, I could get her for you."

Lalen turned red, "No, that's fine. Uh... Rupert around too?"

"Of course I am, I live here you know." Rupert emerged from behind a bookshelf, carrying a high stack of tomes.

Lalen immediately stepped forward and grabbed some of the load and helped heave them on to their proper shelves. After he was done, he turned and glanced at Rupert, who had curly black hair that naped at his ears and neck, and vibrant green eyes the color of clovers. Rupert was already feet from him, talking animatedly with a girl who had wavy brown hair pulled into a high ponytail. Fiona gave off a motherly glow, even though she was barely older than Lalen's own seventeen years. She wasn't your average twenty something, not from Lalen's experience. She didn't have self-serving ambition or goals, only selflessness. He never saw her miss an opportunity to give instead of receive. It was something he admired, something he lacked. She gave Rupert a quick hug and Lalen felt, just for a moment, jealously bubble up inside of him. He pushed it away and re-immersed himself in the conversation.

"You just missed Mari by the way." Fiona acknowledged him. "I swear, if it wasn't for you two, this place might go out of business."

"I wouldn't say that, I hardly buy anything." Lalen retorted playfully, "But how did Mari beat me here? Her school is downtown."

"You didn't hear?" Another voice joined the mix, and a black-haired older woman descended the stairs to his right, long wavy hair flowing past her thighs, "Her school fell under some sort of attack during the night! No one knows what happened exactly, some bombing they think. Makes a woman scared, maybe I should just avoid downtown from now on, you know? Would like to live for the rest of my forty years unharmed. Oh, and Lalen, take that bike helmet off in my shop."

Lalen sheepishly grinned and pulled of his bike helmet with a quick swoop. He buckled it around his backpack and turned back to Risa, "So she's out of school and loving it, huh?"

"I guess so. I was out book hunting while she was here. Just got back. It's nice to leave the store in Quinn's hands while I'm away. Rupert may be my nephew, but I'm always afraid the store is going to explode when I leave him in charge."

"Thanks, Aunt Risa." Rupert rolled his eyes and twitched his mouth into a careless smile.

"Do I need to offer you a job, boy?" Risa teased Lalen as she fumbled with files behind the register.

"You know I would if I could, mom says no." Lalen sighed, heaving himself into a warm cushy arm-chair, noticing that fleeting shadow in the corner of his eye once more.

Risa gave Lalen a small smile, and for only a moment, he thought he could see a faint sadness buried behind her curved lips. She shuffled the papers in her hand, the reason she had descended from upstairs to join them, and made her way back to where she had come, spouting instructions for the three workers below as she went.

* * *

Addie sifted through the dusty folders, searching vigorously for what she wanted to show Lalen. She was positive she had hidden it in one of them.

Out of respect, she had never gone through Johnathan's things. His room was left the way it had been the day he ran away, almost eight years ago. But stumbling through pitch dark, making her way downstairs to grab another soda from the fridge, is when she saw it; A faint glow underneath the door crept past her toes, as the blue tinge of light made a faint line among the carpet. She had never seen a light come from Johnathan's room, and she sure had never heard the hum of an old computer as it powered on. She glanced around, wondering if her father was rummaging around in his son's old room, but she knew that he wouldn't be home at this hour, he usually didn't come crawling home drunk from the bars until past midnight. Her curiosity betraying her, Addie pushed open the door, and the blue light spilled into the hallway like the radiant light from a heavenly being. She saw not a soul inside, just a very, very dusty cobwebbed infested bedroom, papers littered the floor, file boxes overflowing with charts and data and lines of code she did not recognize. Nestled in front of a dirty window was the old computer monitor producing the eerie glow. She stepped forward into the room, ignoring her fears, and her new-found investigation began.

That was almost a month ago, and the wealth of knowledge she had discovered was almost too much to bear alone. Charlie would never understand, not really, and the thought of bringing it to her father's attention was laughable at best, and scary at worst, especially after what she had discovered. No, Lalen was the right choice. She knew that from almost the beginning. She had to share her findings, and who better to do that with than someone who was effected by it just as much as she was? _Aha!_ She had finally found the large round disk wrapped in plastic and stuffed away between two red folders in the back of one of the filing cabinets, just in time for doorbell ringing to bring her out of her musing. She turned still crouching, and could have sworn she saw a dark shadow pass in the corner of her eye, only for a second.

Addie straightened up quickly, stashed the disk in her back pocket and almost skipped down the stairs to answer the door. Thankfully her Dad was gone by the time she had come home, meaning she wouldn't have to explain why strangers were in the house. She also wouldn't have to explain her mess of a father to the _strangers_ either, something she was most grateful for. She turned the doorknob, and was happy to see the smiling face of Charlie on the other side.

"Took you long enough! They should be here any minute." Addie shooed her inside.

"I don't know what you insisted on me coming over Addie, if you're trying to woo the boy, you really should have had your first date somewhere nice, with fewer people." Charlie collapsed on the couch in the living room, propping her feet on the old wooden coffee table.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't li-" The doorbell ringing a second time stopped the words from coming out of Addie's mouth. She straightened out her shirt, and opened the door for the second time.

"Uhhm, hey there." Lalen said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "This is my friend Riley, the one I brought along..."

Riley put on a sly smile, shook Addie's hands while making pleasantries, and stepped inside first, motioning Lalen to follow. He was very much the opposite of his auburn haired scrawny friend. Muscled and slightly ungroomed, Riley was surprisingly courteous and kind, all while flashing a cocky smile. _Suave,_ Addie thought. His short brown hair was kept messy and unstyled, cropping around his ears and almost shaved in the back. He looked around as if he had never seen a home before, and his eyes spotted Charlie yawning and sprawled out on the couch. A slight twinge of excitement leapt in his eye.

"And who are you?" Riley asked, sitting carefully on the couch, putting an appropriate amount of distance between himself and Charlie, as to not overstep his boundaries.

"The woman of your dreams, obviously." Charlie smirked, inching her way closer to Riley.

"Her name is Charlie," Addie said with a slight bewildered look. "How about you two get to know each other, and I'll take Lalen upstairs so I can show him... the book I found?" She made a quick excuse, not wanting to let on about why there were all actually there.

"Book?" Lalen's interest obviously piqued, "You should have just said so! Now this all makes sense."

"Uhh... yeah," Addie continued, going along with Lalen's interest, "Yeah it's upstairs in my room. It's really old I wanted your er... opinion on it."

She grabbed him by the wrist and lead him towards the stairs, taking one last uneasy glance at Riley and Charlie, who had inched so close towards one another she was almost surprised they weren't in each other's laps, and trudged forward towards her brother's old room. Once upstairs, she turned the sharp corner down the hall and blocked themselves from Riley and Charlie's view. She let go of Lalen's wrist and turned, feeling a little guilty, to finally brief him on why they were actually there.

"First of all, I'm sorry I lied but this isn't about a book." Addie noted the disappointed frown that spread across Lalen's face, "Secondly, you can't tell a soul what I'm about so show you. I know that is asking a lot from someone you just formally met this morning, but I need to know I can trust you." She knew she didn't need verbal confirmation of his trust, she knew the minute she decided that Lalen was the only person who could help her.

"...Okay, I promise." He said, attempting to act disinterested, but his face gave him away.

Addie opened the white oak door behind her, and a stale stench of dust and age wafted into the hallway. The room was moderately sized, with a bed and desk juxtaposed on two separate walls. The desk held an old computer, a model Lalen hadn't seen since he was a child, and piles of yellow tinged papers. He entered the room before Addie, common sense and manners taken over by curiosity. It was like he had stepped into the past of ten years ago. Posters for old movies were plastered on the walls, a small tv stood broken and unused on a crumbling stand by the bed, rows of books lay moldy and undisturbed on crooked shelves, one book was even propped open on the messy unmade bed as if the owner had just been there seconds ago.

"What happened here?" He asked.

"It was my brother's old room. He ran away after my mother died, and my father couldn't bear losing both of them, so he avoided the room. I had hope that my brother would return one day, so I never came inside out of hope that when he returned he would be pleased to find everything the way he left it. That dream died a long time ago, but the habit must have remained. Anyways, the thing I wanted to show you, is this." Addie pulled a large disk out of her back pocket, it glimmered silver from the light that shone through the dirt encrusted window. Turning around, she popped it inside the old computer, and booted it on, bringing to life a low humming noise and the sound of the hard drive struggling to work after so many years of unuse. "About a month ago I noticed light coming from this room, light that shouldn't have been in here. I did some exploring, and what I found, well, Lalen what I found was completely fascinating."

"Addie..."

Lines of code were now displayed on the old monitor, gibberish to Lalen but obviously meaningful to his counterpart. She opened whatever program was on the disk, and began typing vigorously on the keyboard with excitement.

"I think I've found some clues about what happened ten years ago, what started the virus." She turned to look at Lalen, who was beginning to back away subconsciously out of confusion.

"What are you going on about, Addie? We know what caused the virus. We learned about it in history class ninth grade year."

"I believed that too, I had no reason NOT to believe it wasn't the air-borne illness cause by pollution, but the stuff I found in here Lalen... Johnathan, my brother, he found out that whatever it was didn't come from here, it came from another world!"

Lalen stood shocked in silence, Addie wasn't sure if he was shocked from her revelation, or if he thought she was insane. Either way she wanted him to say something, anything, to make her feel better, "Well?"

"Well what? I don't know what you're playing at Addie. I can't read computer code, I don't understand."

"I can't really read code either, but my brother could apparently. It's not the code on this disk that swayed me..." She gave up trying to convince him with words, and instead turned back to the computer.

Addie reached over and pulled out the drawer in nearby file cabinet. She grabbed a large stack of papers, and from what Lalen could tell, read the instructions about what to do next. He watched as she darted her gaze back and forth between the monitor and the stack of papers, which she would periodically reshuffle. The minutes ticked by, and all he wanted to do was inch back downstairs, grab Riley, and run away. But his curiosity kept him anchored here, in this moment, with a girl he barely knew and an impossible theory in front of him. After what seemed like ages, Addie let out a little squee of victory. Lalen didn't have to wait long to figure out what it was, as the computer screen began glowing a vibrant blue, the light drenching his surroundings and engulfing him completely. He felt connected to everything in that moment, and he almost couldn't mentally separate where he began, and the universe ended. The light somewhat subsided, and what stood before him was no longer just an old computer monitor, but a small glass screen that seemed to be unfathomably deep. From first glance it might seem like any regular screen, but looking at it, you could see that it wasn't a two-dimensional flat surface, but an image that was actually a deep entrancing blue gate, with white lines that crisscrossed and zagged downwards, creating a curved depth in which Lalen could not calculate.

"This is what I wanted to show you." Addie stood up triumphantly, "This is what I meant. Another world Lalen, a digital dimension alongside our own. I didn't believe it at first, but I read all the papers my brother left here, they said the virus leaked from the opened door that was created ten years ago, he must have found out that it existed while trying to find a way to heal mom, and left all these notes behind for me to find one day. He must have tried to fix things somehow Lalen, but I don't really know what happened after that, he ran away from home... at least, that's what I thought."

Lalen took his first step forward and grabbed Addie's shoulders, "Addie... do you think... your brother could have ended up on the other side somehow when he was trying to close the door?"

"That's _exactly _what I think." Addie's eyes slowly began tearing up, "Lalen this is everything to me, I've had a difficult life, all I've ever wanted was for my brother to come home and rescue me, but I think... I think I was the one meant to rescue him."

"I don't understand though, what does any of this have to do with me, why did you choose me? We hadn't even really met before today." Lalen scrunched up his brow.

"But we have, actually." Addie began, "Our families knew each other, I remember meeting you when I was little, it's hazy, and I had completely forgotten about it until last month, but it happened. Your father is tied to this project somehow... I'm not entirely sure in what way, I just found his picture in a file among all the data Johnathan was collecting, and that sparked my memory of meeting him, and you."

"I have no idea what my father has to do with any of this, I haven't even seen him in six years." Lalen bit his lip, "But, I want to help you. We should find out more about this door that was opened, maybe we could open it again safely, and find your brother?"

"I've already found out how to open it Lalen, but I didn't want to do it alone. There are notes upon notes on what went wrong the first time, I don't think Johnathan wrote all of these, he couldn't have he was only eighteen when all of this started. But it looks like there is a final line of code, one that will allow safe passage between the worlds."

_"Leave it be." _A whispered voice intruded into the room. It was quiet, but filled every corner and crevice with its urgency.

"Who's there?!" Lalen barked, backing up against Addie.

_"Do not continue your search, leave it be." _The voice whispered once more.

_What has she gotten me into? _Lalen cursed, pressing his back against Addie's as they circled the room, looking for a source of the mysterious voice, "Show yourself."

A black haze manifested in front of him, dark swirls of shadow grew from the paneled flooring, entangling themselves around one another, growing together to form a more solid mass. A figure stood in the darkness before them, concealed almost entirely in shadow, before stepping out into the blue glow, and losing all shadow along with it. What appeared before them was a strange, human like creature, with a long pointed hat, purple cape, and a staff that was topped with a broken, wavy sun.

"I am Wizardmon." The being introduced itself, "And you two must be the ignorant humans _he _spoke of."

Wizardmon strode around the room, looming closer and closer towards the old computer, "I was sent here to warn you of your actions. My sender, while not someone I would call master, as no being owns me, is someone who I greatly admire. He has fought hard to prevent certain things from coming to pass, and now all rests on the shoulders of two unknowing humans. You two to be exact."

"Us?" They both said in unison.

"My sender has predicted that the fate of the universe will be dependent upon the actions of two specific beings. You two are the ones who stand in the way from the end of all things. Not really who I would have picked, but he is usually never wrong."

"What is going to happen, who is your sender?" Lalen demanded.

"I was sent here because I am not as strong as some of my other companions, there are still small doors and holes that lead between our two worlds, but only if you know where to look, and only if you're small and weak enough to make it through. My mission is to guide and watch over you. I've been watching this girl in particular, ever since she discovered the main gate." He motioned towards the computer, "I do not know what could come of it, but I feel like opening the gate again would be a bad idea. I cannot let you do it."

Addie furrowed her brow in frustration, "How do I know I can trust you, that you're not lying? This could be the only way to save my brother, and I'm not letting you stop me."

She swiveled back around and began copying the lines of text from the stack of papers on the desk, typing each one with careful precision, determined to defy Wizardmon and open the portal between worlds. She was down to her last few letters when she felt a hand pull her arm back, she craned her neck around to see Lalen gripping her arm.

"I don't think we should do this Addie, not yet. We don't know what could happen."

She ignored him, pried her arm away, and typed the last few numbers needed, and as she was about to hit enter, Lalen grabbed her arm again, making her slip and press the L key just before her pinky hit the enter button. A blast of energy knocked them back, shaking the house and rumbling the earth below. They heard startled cries from downstairs as Charlie and Riley ran up the stairs making their way towards Johnathan's room. Wizardmon held out his hand and the door behind them slammed and locked into place. The computer screen in front of them ebbed and warped rapidly, pushing inwards and outwards, unsure of what form it wanted to take. For a moment, a green mountainous landscape appeared on the other side of the screen, only to fade to black quickly as the computer powered down and the monitor took its natural form. Riley and Charlie banged and pounded on the other side of the door, trying desperately to get to their possibly injured friends.

"What have you done?!" Wizardmon bellowed, jolting forward and pushing Lalen to the side as he made his way towards Addie.

In the moment that he touched Lalen, a bright yellow light erupted from his touch, it filled the room even more heavily than the blue light produced by the computer monitor. The two hovered briefly together in the air, their hands inches from one another, unnatural wind whipping around them as the light died down and slowly formed a small, triangular device in the space between their fingertips. It fell gracefully in to Lalen's open palm, and he looked up and gaped at the strange, unknown figure that stood before him. Anger and loathing etched into every corner of Wizardmon's face, he quickly reached and grabbed for the device, but Lalen wrenched it from his grasp just it time, still in awe at the yellow triangular device that was now... his. Yes, he knew whatever it was, it belonged to him, it was always there before, and now it has made itself known and physical, and somehow tied him to the creature called Wizardmon.

Outside the window, perched high up in the old maple tree, a lone figure tossed aside her curly red locks as she watched the scene play out before her. A self-serving, triumphant smile crept across her lips as the boy and wizard became partners before her very eyes. The fox-like demon behind her smirked too, its claws tapping and digging lightly into the shoulder of its counterpart.

"Gotcha." She said, not taking her eyes off her prey.

* * *

**A/N: **So there you go! Chapter 1 of many more chapters to come. I have quite a bit planned out and I'm really excited for you all to see everything unfold! Reviews and constructive criticism are most welcome of course! :)


	2. Chapter 2: The Unwanted Thief

**A/N: **And here we go, chapter two! Things may seem a bit slow starting out, but trust me, there is a lot in store for our characters.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Unwanted ****Thief**

The trees around her blurred into a haze of green as she rushed forward, the thrill of the steal echoed with the heavy beats of her heart. The marketplace was far behind her now, but she could still feel her pursuer at her back, and the only way to escape was forward. The thought of it sent trembles of excitement down her spine, she knew her own feet were too fast for them, but still she clutched on to the slightly over-ripened bag of peaches more fiercely than before, not wanting to lose the spoils of her thievery from carelessness. She craned her head back in an attempt to catch a glimpse of just how far they had fallen behind, when her body collided with something firm. She collapsed into a bitter fall, the pain from her tumble ate at her shins like razors. Her eyes tilted upwards, as she rubbed her legs, to see what exactly she had bumped in to.

Towering over her, arms outstretched and grimacing, was a very angry bug-like creature. She crawled backwards, not taking her eyes off of the shop owner she had stolen the peaches from. _How did he catch up to me so quickly?_ Her question was answered immediately as Stingmon, the bug before her, sprouted intricate white wings, and lifted off from the ground, hovering over her with a mighty presence. She could hear the small mob behind her, they had caught up as well. She was surrounded on all sides; to her left was a thickets of trees so dense she couldn't stick her arm through, and on the other was a winding dirt path that led to a rocky mountain overpass, which ended at a steep unstable cliff.

Stingmon darted forward, hands grasping for her large brown ears, and she swiftly avoided his grasp by flanking towards the right, heading up the dead-end mountain trail. She could feel him hovering inches behind her, she knew it would only be seconds before he wrapped his clawed fist around her neck and punished her for nabbing his fruit. Then she saw it, a small crevasse just big enough for her to fit through, tucked away on the mountain side. She ducked, sliding forward and barely making it inside before Stingmon could pull her back. Sighing with relief, she surveyed her surrounding, hoping for a way out that didn't lead back to the mob, but all she found was rock. No path, no way out, no salvation. This was it, this is how she went out, petty thieving from a lowly merchant. Her mind raced, instinct grabbed her, there had to be something. She had gotten away with a lot more before, _a lot more_. What would her mother say if she found out her daughter was taken out by a shopkeeper and some randoms? Sounds of exasperation met her ears, as the group on the other side of the crevasse began throwing themselves, clawing at, and violently punching the crevasse to reach her inside.

Then she saw it, a brilliant blue light illuminating the ridged mountain walls. It appeared from no where, but she knew, somehow, that it was her escape. Rock crumbled around her as the group finally knocked away the roof of her hiding place. She spun her head around, opened her mouth, and tiny ice crystals erupted with force, spraying the crevasse ceiling, temporary blocking them once again. Taking a deep breath, the large brown bunny stepped forward into the light, and felt a warm sensation fill her body. She was traveling along a light path now, pictures of homes belonging to strange creatures flashed before her eyes, it was all foreign to her. She could feel the path narrowing, pressing in at her on all sides. She felt constrained, the air constricting in her lungs. She broke into a run, pressing forward and finally, made it to fresh daylight. But what surrounded her now was not her home, but somewhere new. Tall buildings shot into the sky at every angle, and large automobiles zipped passed on a dull gray road. She looked behind her, the blue light, path of light, and all traces of her home were gone. She was _alone_.

* * *

The pounding grew louder and louder as Riley and Charlie tried in vain to wrench open the piece of wood separating them from their friends. Wizardmon was quick on his feet, and falling into the shadows, he lifted his arm and the door popped back open, revealing an exasperated Riley and Charlie on the other side. The duo lurched forward, but froze mid-step in the doorway. Wizardmon stepped once more out of the black, and waved his gloved hand through the air, the two in front of him exchanged their panicked faces for glazed, dreamy expressions.

"Well it was super fun," Charlie said lazily, looking at nothing, "I'll see you at school Addie."

"Same here, we will have to do this again sometime." Riley grabbed Charlie's hand and the duo almost floated down the stairs and out the front door, talking quietly to one another about nothing in particular as they went.

"What did you do to them?!" Addie was furious.

"They'll be fine, I just used a version of one of my abilities, Visions of Terror. Instead of seeing their nightmares, I made them think that what they had experienced was just a dream, and that what would be best for them would be to go home. They'll go home, fall asleep, and remember nothing slightly before and past the house shaking and alerting them."

"You can... do something like that?" Addie gaped in terror, backing up against Lalen in fear.

"It's not something I particularly like doing to innocent people, so don't worry. The being who sent me here would not like it if he found out anyways, but I thought this was a... special case, and that it would be okay." Wizardmon strode across the room and lifted himself on the bed and continued.

"It seems as if we've gotten into a predicament. Entering that code correctly would have surely opened a stable gate between our worlds. Saving your brother would have been the least of your problems. I don't care what you read, a gate is a gate, and you couldn't have stopped bad things from coming here. I'm going to go ahead and assume however, that you have caused the small, unknown portals all over this world to grow bigger. Which means more digimon coming through to this world-"

"Digimon?" Addie and Lalen both asked.

"That's what I am, a digimon. There are thousands of different kinds of digimon lurking on the other side of the gate, some friendly, some not. And opening that gate would have allowed them all to pass forth into this world if they wanted. I came here to stop that from happening, and to close the portals between the worlds. It seems though, that I have... become partners with you, boy."

"That's what this thing is, right? It bonds us." Lalen passed the device over in his hands.

"That is a digivice, long believed to be a myth. When human and digimon come together, they can work off of each other to become stronger. I however, do not intend to rely on you. I would like for you to hand that item over to me."

"No way, this is mine!" Lalen held his yellow digivice close to his chest.

"It's actually _ours, _but if I destroy it we will no longer be bonded together." Wizardmon slid off the bed and stepped forward, gripping his staff tight.

"Listen, I don't want to be bonded to someone like _you_ anymore then you want to be bonded to me. But this... this digivice, it's a part of me, I feel it in here," Lalen motioned to his chest, "I can't let you take that away. It's always been there, I know that now."

Wizardmon shook with anger, but turned away from the two humans to keep his calm, "Fine, keep it, but don't expect me to play nice with you. I'm not going to play the dopey sidekick part, and certainly not to a human."

Lalen and Addie scooted closer to one another, afraid of what was to come next. The being before them did not seem to want to harm them, but his actions had been sporadic and incalculable since he showed up. Neither knew how to process what was going on, that what they had been talking about half an hour ago was actually real, with proof standing before them hidden in the half-light of the setting sun. Addie clutched her chest, unable to fathom what she almost did. She wanted to save her brother, yes, but not at the price of every other person on the planet. Not at the price of Earth itself.

"Someone will have to do something about the portals, there is nothing else to it. Closing them rests on your shoulders now, I've delivered my message." Wizardmon did not turn back to look at them, "You will almost certainly fail."

And just like that, he was gone, sulking back into the shadows, dissipating with every step, until all that was left was the evening glow shimmering through the window.

* * *

Somehow, Lalen's feet drug him back home. The walk from Addie's house now seemed like a far off haze of a memory. The two had talked for hours after Wizardmon left, and when it came down to it, they still weren't sure what to do. How were they supposed to do anything? Uneducated, unprepared, and unsure of the power it would take to close the remaining portals, things seemed dreary. Curiosity had gotten them into this mess, and now Lalen hoped, curiosity might just get them out of it. He desired to call out for Wizardmon, ask him for some sort of guidance, but he knew that the creature held some sort of undeserved contempt for him, and asking him anything would be futile. With no plan to go forward, the one thing he and Addie did agree on, is all that they could do now is wait.

Lalen fumbled with his keys, trying to make out which one opened his front door in the dark, turned it in the keyhole once it was found, and pushed open the door, hoping his mom would have gone to bed. The entry way to his house offered nothing but silence; the walls were painted in calming hues of blue, cream carpeting cushioned each step he took, silencing his movements as he sneaked past the darkened living room, lit only by the glow of the television strangely left on. Eyeing the stairs ahead of him, Lalen made his way forward, grabbed on to the railing, almost had his foot on the first step, when-

"Lalen Palmer, what time do you think it is?" His mom's voice rang out in a soft shrill.

"Mom I'm sorry, I know its past curfew, I lost track of time!" He spun around, focusing his eyes on the now completely lit living room, his mom standing on a woven rug placed in the middle, fuming.

Naomi Palmer was young, younger than your average mother, but that didn't stop her from looking intimidating when she wanted to be. Her face was scowled into an angry lined mess, arms stationed on her hips in a fierce and direct stature. She was fearsome, demanding respect, and answers, which Lalen had every intention of giving her.

"Well?" She asked, turning up her nose.

"Riley and I just hung out later than usual. I promise, you know I would never step out of line, I'm sorry I should have texted you to let you know I'd be home late..."

Naomi's posture softened immediately, "I'm sorry sweet pea, you know how I get, it's dangerous out there, and it's not MY curfew you're breaking, it's the city's."

Lalen gave his mom a hug, another form of apology, and sprawled himself out on a comfy leather couch behind her, "Have a good day at work?"

Naomi took as seat beside her son and started reciting her days woes, Lalen made ooh's and awe's in all the right places, letting his mother talk as long as she wanted. Sometimes he didn't really listen, his brain focused on what had happened earlier, but that wasn't strange for him, he knew she enjoyed the attention whether it was whole-hearted or not. The television blared on in the background, the late evening news reporting about the armored vigilante _'Cyprus' _still on the loose.

"...and then, I can't believe it, Simmons handed in the wrong files anyways. I swear that man can't do anything right. One day I'll have his job though." She tossed back a long strand of bangs that was constantly hanging in her face, "Lalen are you okay, you seem even less interested than usual."

"I'm sorry mom, I guess I'm just preoccupied today."

"Hmm, really? What exactly were you and Riley up to today? He being handsy with girls again? Got something you wanna talk to me about?" She pressed.

Lalen was taken aback, he knew he had to give her something, otherwise her thoughts would spiral in places he'd rather not think about, "Uhhm, it wasn't when Riley and I were hanging out... uhhh, it's... Risa! Yeah, Risa offered me a job again..." He hoped he had convinced her.

"Oh did she?" Naomi tilted her head back, contemplating, "Well, I guess you ARE seventeen now, it might be good for you to have a job. Okay, fine, you have my blessing."

"R-really?!" Lalen was shocked, she was so adamant against him having a job before, or him being out anywhere for long periods of time after school, especially with how he used to act, he was legitimately confused.

"Yeah. You've really stepped up and helped me the past couple years Lalen. I know we've had our ups and downs, but I trust you sweet pea, I feel like it would be good for you."

While not at all what he was expecting or hoping for, Lalen was plenty pleased with the outcome. And with this being the least weird thing on his list of weird things today, he felt a glimmer of hope for the future. His mom finally trusted him, he was going to have the job he had always wanted, and he even made a new friend today in Addie. Despite the possible earth ending information he discovered, all in all it was a good day.

* * *

He slammed the boy hard against the locker, pinning his arms back to keep him from moving, "Nice to see ya, Palmer."

Lalen said nothing, not giving his harasser the reaction he wanted. The girl behind him reached out and grabbed the brute's shoulder, "Dirk, go easy on him."

"Stay out of it Sun, Palmer and I have some talking to do." Dirk tightened his hold on Lalen's wrist, digging his nails into the boy's skin.

Dirk had been Lalen's constant tormentor his entire high school career. Large, muscly, and from Lalen's perspective, small brained, the senior boy held a long-lasting vendetta against him for no particular reason. Only that Lalen existed, and was shrimpy and frail enough not to fight back. Riley usually came to his rescue, both him and Dirk being on the wrestling team helped. But this time Riley was nowhere to be seen, so Lalen let Dirk have his fun as it was usually best not to provoke him more.

"If you're going to keep picking on him you should at least do it correctly, shove him in a locker or something." The other boy chimed in, Cress, Dirk's younger brother.

"Nah, he should stick his head in a toilet again, Lalen liked that one didn't you?" Sun sneered halfheartedly. She didn't really get much amusement out of bullying, but she followed Dirk regardless.

"Both of ya shut it, nah nah, I haven't been able to kick around Palmer here in a while, I think a good old-fashioned ass kicking has been coming his way for a long time." Dirk slammed Lalen against the locker once more, lifting up his knee and digging it into Lalen's abdomen.

"Don't get yourself suspended again Derick." Sun rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me that." Dirk scrunched up his face as he slung Lalen to the ground.

"HEY YOU." A small voice called out bravely as Charlie came barreling down the hallway, "How about you pick on someone your own size, eh? Like me!"

"Look, Palmer's got girls fighting for him now!" Dirk choked out a laugh.

"You'll have another girl fighting you if you don't shut your mouth." Sun smacked him across his back.

"Sorry." Dirk said sheepishly, trying to reach around to rub the stinging whelp just inflicted on him.

Charlie stood over Lalen, hands on hip, with a fierce look in her eyes, soon she was joined by both Riley, and Addie, who were following behind her at a slightly slower pace.

"Fine, your ass has been saved this time Palmer, but you won't always have your little friends around to help you." The bully Dirk glared at Lalen, who had sat up rubbing his wrists, before turning around and walking away, Sun and Cress following not too far behind.

"Thanks guys, sorry you had to get involved." Lalen stood up and shook his head in shame.

"No problem!" Charlie grinned, and Lalen felt a well of appreciation fill up inside of him, "Addie and I bumped into Riley on his way to meet up with you, we must have held him back too long because those jerks got to you first."

"Seriously though Lalen, you need to stand up to him." Riley patted his friend on the shoulder.

"I can't get into any trouble, you know that. Even if I'm defending myself they'll still have to report the fight. If I lay there and take it, I have no involvement and can't be charged with anything."

"Why can't you get into trouble?" Addie asked.

"It's a long story..." Lalen said without any intention to explain it.

The group began walking in unison, heading towards building two, where they each just happened to have class. Lalen listened as the talk turned from bullies and injustice, to less interesting things like Charlie and Riley dating, grades, and the latest gossip around campus. He noted however, that neither mentioned anything weird happening the previous night, and sighed a little in relief. Whatever happening was crazy enough without Riley and Charlie in on it. As his thoughts began to wonder towards the portals, and digimon, he caught a few snippets of conversation, and his interest piqued at the words...

"...mysterious thief! Yeah, they have no idea who is doing it. Some people say the guy is running around in a rabbit costume!"

"What'd you say, Charlie?" Lalen asked as he thought he saw a shock of yellow out of the corner of his eye.

"Weren't you listening?! I was watching the news this morning and there is some mysterious thief running about and stealing things! Expensive shiny things. No one know's who is doing it, and with how excellent our police are that's pretty surprising. Lots of people have claimed that whoever it was is running around in a brown and pink bunny costume! Can you imagine?! How are they getting away with it?"

"Maybe the police are slipping, I mean, they still haven't caught Cyprus. Not that I think he's worth catching, but they do, and he keeps evading capture! What a real hero." Riley added.

"Cyprus is different, a vigilante is one thing, but a thief is another! This person is _actively_ doing bad things." Charlie disagreed.

"I don't know, there was that bombing downtown a couple of night ago... things are getting pretty crazy." Riley trailed off.

Lalen locked eyes with Addie in terror, they both knew what this thief more than likely was, and they were the only ones who could do anything about it. '_It has to be a digimon, maybe that's what caused the bombing the other night too...'. _Lalen's thoughts overwhelmed him, his mind consumed by digimon, portals, devices, and a responsibility that was shoved upon him unknowingly by the girl standing beside of him. All of it rested on his shoulders now.

* * *

"I've been to see him." Renamon said as she appeared before the red-headed girl, "I think he saw me."

"Still without Wizardmon?" The girl inquired.

"It seems... for now."

The pair walked along a dark and dusty winding corridor, cement floor and walls surrounding them at every turn. The busy sounds of traffic echoed in the distance, adding an ambient atmosphere to the quiet parking garage. They reached the large open area that usually held cars, but was now almost completely empty. The work day had ended and most people had already made their way home, leaving the garage an ideal space for something to lay low and hide while it bid it's time.

"You should have let me face the boy last night, we wouldn't have to do any of this waiting." The girl hissed.

"Eli, you know his bond isn't strong enough with that digimon yet for any outcome to benefit us."

The girl ignored her counterpart, opting instead to look down at the red digivice in her hand, the familiar blinking light telling her that once again, her prey was close. They made it to the other side of the garage, and again descended down the winding road, heading towards the floor below, another parking area. The fox remained silent, and Eli could feel its angry glare burning into the back of her head. This only made her more willing to anger the fox, stir her up. Her steps echoed quietly in the abandoned space, providing another layer of sound over the noisy street life outside, only to be interrupted by the addition of voices.

"Stop." Renamon commanded.

Eli immediately halted, slowly peaking around the corner of the wall in front of her to get a look of exactly what she was listening to.

"...being completely reckless. What do you think stealing all of these things will do for you?" The figure belonging to the voice was hidden by a tall square pillar, but the thing it was talking to was plainly in view. A large, brown and pink, rabbit.

"It's none of your business. Who do you think you are?" The rabbit asked, backing away from its inquirer.

"I'm trying to help you, you idiot. This isn't like our world, if the wrong person sees you it's all over."

"I don't need a reason to steal, it's just what I do. I see something shiny and expensive, I want it, I take it." The rabbit loosened up, beginning to believe the person talking to it was sincere.

"Well it's stupid, and wrong. Just because you want something doesn't mean you can take it. You need to go back home, take me to the portal that brought you here and I'll help you get back." Wizardmon finally stepped in to view, bringing a small smirk to Eli's mouth.

"...No, I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself." The rabbit bounced back and away, swiftly running towards the exit.

"LOPMON! Just tell me where the portal is!" Wizardmon started after her, but she was gone in seconds.

Eli moved to step out into the parking garage, but Renamon's sharp claws bore into her shoulder, "Don't you dare move."

The duo watched as Wizardmon kicked at the air in frustration, before sulking back into the shadow and disappearing all together.

"See? You would have made yourself known and the digimon would have immediately left, with us exposed. You're the one who is reckless, not that silly rabbit."

Eli fumed, and felt her body fill up with animosity towards the fox behind her, but she knew Renamon was right. She needed to be more cautious. One wrong move and everything they were working towards would be compromised. With the addition of another digimon to her world, and another partnered human, the opportunity for power was greater than ever. They just had to play their cards right, and strike only when it was most beneficial to them. And she would, Eli would strike, and everyone would know her name. They'd be hers, every last one of them.

* * *

"You'll be here at four every day after school, got it?" Risa slammed down a stack of books on a pedestal near the register, "Starting today! And I want you here tomorrow too, you know how busy the weekends get around here."

Lalen smiled sheepishly, he could count on his hands the amount of people he had ever seen in Risa's small bookstore. She was well off though, her husband left a large amount of money behind after he died, at least from what Lalen had heard from Rupert in those moments he got the older boy to talk. She could probably afford to keep the store running for forty years without making any revenue. Rupert lived here and was her nephew, so he wouldn't need to be paid, and Fiona and Quinn only worked evenings and weekends. With the addition of himself, that was still only four employees to account for.

"I won't let you down, I promise!" He chimed, hugging Risa tight, who blushed and hesitated, before returning his hug in full.

"Congrats!" Quinn slapped him hard on the back, and then proceeded to push her large glasses up her nose, "Maybe I can rope you into helping me practice my kenjustu sometime, I always need a good dummy to smack around!"

"Goodness Quinn, leave the kid alone," Fiona said, popping up from behind a towering bookshelf, and pushed Quinn away to shake hands with Lalen herself, "Welcome to the team!"

"You'll do great!" Rupert suddenly appeared as well, and draped his arm over Fiona in a friendly fashion, although Lalen still felt a trace of jealousy bubble up inside, "Come on, I'll finally show you the break room!"

Rupert grabbed Lalen's hand and pulled him away from the trio of women, the two made their way down rows of shelves and poorly balanced book towers, halting at a short brown door near the back of the store, one that Lalen had always had a mild curiosity about. Lalen noticed a sudden coldness on his palm as the warmth from Rupert's hand disappeared as he tore his hand away to turn the knob. Inside, the room was everything Lalen could have hoped for. A large roaring fireplace was nestled in one corner, which must have been installed recently, as the brick and marble barely showed any signs of aging. Large squishy arm chairs sat huddled around the fire, its warm glow provided just enough light to comfortably read whatever you wanted. A small fridge and bar were crammed into another corner, littered with papers and paper cups, and recyclable plastic utensils. On every wall there was a shelf, and each shelf had hundreds of books, some Lalen hadn't heard of, some that looked ancient. The grand finale of it all was a large windows sitting opposite of Lalen, with heavy crimson and gold curtains framing it in a dramatic fashion. The window was curved at the top, and looked out to a large private garden, with all sorts of birds and bugs and small animals going about their day, unknowing of the humans watching their movements from the other side. The epitome of cozy, Lalen felt at home, something he hadn't felt for years.

"It's nice, right?" Rupert grinned, tugging Lalen's injured wrist gently, and pulling the auburn haired boy inside, "You should close the door though, customer's aren't allowed back here."

With the door closed, and the room giving its full effect, Lalen collapsed on to one of the squishy arm chairs and sighed in happiness.

"I'm glad you could finally join us, Risa has been hoping your mom would change her mind for a long time. She kinda sees you as family you know." Rupert murmured as he took the arm-chair opposite of Lalen for himself.

Lalen sat up properly and felt something weird in the pit of his stomach, he watched as Rupert's green eyes scanned him intensely, searching for something in Lalen. He had witnessed Rupert do this before, and every time a nervousness jabbed at his insides. At the same time, the stare made him feel... important.

"Can I tell you something?" Rupert asked.

"Of course..."

"...Ahh, never mind, don't worry about it." Rupert broke his gaze for the first time, "So this is it by the way. Lots of sitting, reading, and organizing. Sometimes we do errands and cleaning, but Quinn handles all the nerdy book-keeping."

"Sounds like a perfect job to me." Lalen grinned.

"Yeah, perfect..." Rupert turned towards the window and didn't speak again for some time, "Okay, well break over, you should probably get out there, Fiona will teach you the ropes."

Rupert watched as Lalen unwillingly sulked back outside and started talking to Fiona about what came next. The day went on without much hassle, a couple came in and bought a few books, and somehow a stray cat found a home sleeping on the highest shelf in the store, refusing to come down, resulting in Risa claiming it was officially the store mascot, and soon night had descended, and the store began closing down. Rupert said goodbye to Fiona and Lalen as they walked home together, chatting animatedly about something he had missed from a previous conversation in the day, and was settled with the chore of taking out the garbage. As always.

The alleyway beside the store was dirty and unkempt, the city had really fallen behind on street cleaning. Rupert heaved the heavy black trash bag over his shoulder as he made his way towards the gray metallic bin all the way down at the other end of the alley. The only light illuminating his path was a flickering bulb positioned conveniently overhead of the bin. Halfway down the alley he heard it; footsteps. The steps grew louder and louder, and sometimes he could hear a sudden _thump_, before they started up again. And then, high up above, partially visible from the flickering light, a brown and pink rabbit leaped from one rooftop to another, before jumping again out of sight. Rupert's grip on the trash bag slackened as his brain attempted to process what he saw. His mouth slack-jawed and hung open, he watched as a red-headed girl emerged and jumped after the rabbit, followed closely by a big, yellow fox. The bag slipped from his hands and busted, scattering rubbish among the street, but Rupert was still staring blankly at the space where the fox had been, just moments before.

* * *

_"...and the Jewel thief strikes again, somehow robbing three consecutive jewelry stores last night alone. Police are baffled, stating that they cannot find any proof that the thief has illegally entered any of the establishments, and confused at how their roaming night staff has not got a glimpse of the thief..." _

"Turn that off, I'm sick of hearing about it." Addie groaned, not wanting Charlie to bring any more attention to what she knew had to be digimon related.

"Fine, fine!" Charlie switched off the television, "I don't know how you're not fascinated though!"

"It's just not interesting to me..." Addie lied.

"Anyways, my mom should be home soon, we are going shopping! I wanted to find a new outfit for my date with Riley tonight, wanna come?"

"Nah, I'm fine, I was about to head out anyways." Addie shrugged, "But you and Riley, that's going good? You really like this guy, huh?"

"Yeah, I didn't think I would at first glance, total jock-bro, really not my type, but he surprised me." Charlie gazed off into the distance happily.

"That's nice, but if he hurts you, let him know I will kill him personally."

"Trust me, he knows." Charlie giggled.

Not long after, Charlie's mom, Junko, came home. Addie paid her respects, stayed for small talk, and managed to sneak her way out before Junko forced her to go to the mall, and sighed in relief as she was free and outside, walking carefree in the direction of home. Junko was a shopaholic, a trait she passed to her daughter, and one shopping trip with the both of them was enough for a years worth of shopping for Addie. Thankfully Junko was a successful lawyer, or her spending would have sent their family into bankruptcy a long time ago.

Addie found herself taking a different route than usual, it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and she had no urgency in getting back home. Her only plan this weekend was to finally get her I.D pass renewed, and she wouldn't have to worry about that until Sunday. She lost herself in thoughts of Charlie and Riley, of Lalen, her parents, and even the possibility of stopping at Florence's Ice Cream cart and buying herself a delicious strawberry split, when she finally noticed how quiet it was. Not only was it quiet, but somehow, she had taken herself to a part of town she had never been to before. She pulled out her phone, panicked at her unfamiliar surroundings, and sought directions to put herself back on the right path home.

"Unfortunately, it seems I do need your help." A voice called out, sending shivers down Addie's spine.

"Wizardmon?" She asked, unsure if she wanted an answer.

"As you are probably already aware, a thief has made themselves known to your city. And, I am sure you've deduced that it is in fact not a human, but a digimon..." Wizardmon stepped out of the shadows, eyes gleaming.

"Yes, I did figure that one out. What do you want, Wizardmon?" She said, not knowing how she felt towards the creature before her.

"We need to stop her, she is going to expose us all. She could also lead us to the gate she came here through, and we could close it off before anyone else makes their way to your world."

"I thought we were on our own? That you weren't here to help us." Addie snapped, "Also, I don't know if closing the portals is the right answer here..."

"Don't be naïve, of course it is." Wizardmon took a deep breath, "I was sent here to deliver a message, and to close the portals. What I said before was out of anger, and as much as I would like to stick by it, it is my duty to finish my mission, all of it."

"But why come to us? Surely you can do it on your own, you don't need to rely on Lalen for strength, remember?" Addie wasn't sure why she was spewing Wizardmon's words back at him, but she did it anyways.

"If you do not wish for my help, then by all means, we can continue on the mission of closing the portals separately." Wizardmon turned to leave, obviously not wanting to share his change of heart.

"Wait... he and I... we don't know what to do. We have no idea whats going on, and I'm frustrated with you, but I also know that I'd be stupid to turn down your offer of reconciling. We need you, and it seems for whatever reason, you need us."

"Then it's settled, let's go and find Lalen, it's time to hunt a rabbit." Wizardmon smiled, turning his angry grimace into a wide grin for the first time since Addie met him.

The creature dissolved into her own shadow, unsettling Addie as she looked down and met his eyes resting in her own shadow's face. She didn't know just how much she should trust the creature who now mimicked her own likeliness, but given the circumstances, her options weren't varied. Closing the portals somehow didn't feel right to her, but without a way to traffic what came through, she couldn't think of another course of action. Surely though, the digimon were fleeing into her world for some reason. And whatever that reason was, she felt, deep inside, they would have to face it one day. Portals closed or not, they couldn't stop the inevitable.

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**A/N: **So what'd you think? Reviews are super helpful, and inspire me to write more! So please feel free to leave some. Constructive criticism is always welcomed as well!


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